Latest news with #TimRussell
Yahoo
15-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
GOP lawmakers seek rollback of 72-hour waiting period, background checks for certain firearm sales
Tim Russell of Sydney was among the minority of demonstrators on Jan. 3, 2024 who protested in support of gun rights. (Photo by Jim Neuger/ Maine Morning Star) After scraping by with razor-thin support last session and pending questions about its legality, Maine's 72-hour waiting period for gun purchases is before lawmakers again as Republicans seek to repeal it. Last session, the Legislature passed a bill requiring a three-day waiting period after someone purchases a gun before they can bring it home as part of a slew of gun safety legislation in the aftermath of the deadly Lewiston mass shooting. The law is currently suspended amid a legal challenge questioning its constitutionality, but legislators are still seeking to do away with it in Maine statute. After lawmakers voted to enact the bill 73-70 in the House of Representatives and 18-17 in the Senate, Gov. Janet Mills, a Democrat who has a history of support for gun rights, allowed it to become law but did not endorse it with her signature. At the time, she said she was conflicted over what she saw as the burden it placed on law-abiding citizens, while also understanding the argument that it could save lives by preventing impulsive suicides and homicides. After the waiting period took effect in August, opponents filed a lawsuit in November claiming it violates the Second Amendment rights of people who have passed background checks. Earlier this year, a U.S. District Court judge sided with the gun rights advocates and temporarily paused the waiting period. Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey appealed the decision, but a federal appeals court last week refused to reinstate the waiting period while the lawsuit unfolds. Meanwhile, the Legislature's Judiciary Committee is set to hold a public hearing Wednesday morning for two proposals to repeal the law entirely. Both bills would repeal the portion of Maine statute that requires someone who sells a firearm to wait 72 hours before delivering it to the buyer. LD 208 is sponsored by House Minority Leader Billy Bob Faulkingham (R-Winter Harbor), while the nearly identical LD 1230 is sponsored by Rep. Quentin Chapman (R-Auburn). The committee will also hear a proposal from Rep. Jennifer Poirier (R-Skowhegan) to roll back another gun reform measure passed last session: background checks on the private sales of firearms. Specifically, LD 1062 would repeal a law that was part of a slate of reforms introduced by Mills in response to the Lewiston shooting that expanded background checks to advertised sales. During last year's House discussion ahead of the floor vote on the bill, proponents said it closed a loophole in Maine's background check law without requiring universal background checks — which Mainers narrowly voted down in a 2016 referendum. But opponents argued it was an infringement of Second Amendment rights that would only further burden law-abiding citizens. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
27-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Proposals to amend concealed carry laws saw pushback from business community, law enforcement
Tim Russell of Sydney was among the minority of demonstrators on Jan. 3, 2024 who protested in support of gun rights. (Photo by Jim Neuger/ Maine Morning Star) Among the gun legislation before the Maine Legislature this session are proposals to amend constitutional and concealed carry laws that drew concerns from the business and law enforcement communities. The Legislature's Judiciary Committee held public hearings Wednesday for eight gun bills that were broken into two groups to make public input more efficient. While half of the bills related to various aspects of concealed carry law, the other four dealt with the definition of machine guns, magazine capacity and serial numbers on firearms. Laura Whitcomb, president of Gun Owners of Maine, said the group supported the four that would help standardize the laws around carrying firearms in the state, including the differences between having a permit to carry a concealed weapon and not having one. 'If you are not a person who generally carries a firearm, it might be difficult to understand that most people who carry a firearm do so on a regular basis,' she said to explain why consistency in statute is important for those individuals. Maine residents can carry a handgun without a permit if they are 21 years old and not otherwise prohibited from possessing a firearm — what's colloquially referred to as constitutional carry. There are exceptions allowing people who are 18 to 20 years old to carry without a permit if they are active duty military or have been honorably discharged. Rep. Alicia Collins (R-Sidney) is seeking to lower the constitutional carry age to 18 with LD 424 on the grounds that someone is considered a legal adult at that age and entrusted with other decisions,such as voting or enlisting in the military. Maine Legislature weighs updates to machine gun definition, ghost gun regulations Under current law, an employer can't prohibit an employee from storing a firearm in their vehicle if the employee has a valid permit to carry a concealed firearm, so long as the vehicle is locked and the firearm is stored out of sight. However, Collins is looking to remove the requirement that an employee have a valid concealed carry permit with LD 998. The Maine State Chamber of Commerce opposed this bill citing concerns over employer choice and workplace safety. Additionally, Rep. Jennifer Poirier (R-Skowhegan) introduced LD 1049, which would repeal a requirement that someone carrying a concealed handgun without a permit must inform a law enforcement officer immediately that they have a firearm during a traffic stop or other such encounters. Maine State Police and the Maine Department of Public Safety opposed this proposal over safety concerns for both the officers and other individuals involved in those encounters. The final carry-related proposal came from Sen. David Haggan (R-Penobscot). He said LD 829 would clean up confusion in existing law by making it clear that someone can carry a concealed firearm in a state park, so long as they are not otherwise prohibited from possessing one. It removes the ambiguity that someone must have a permit to carry in a state park or Acadia National Park, he said. The bill includes an emergency preamble so it could take effect immediately upon passage with a two-thirds vote. This means it could be in place for the summer recreation season. Justin Davis, state director for the National Rifle Association, argued LD 829 is important not only for protection against wildlife in the Maine woods, but a security measure for females hiking alone. However, Friends of Acadia, an organization dedicated to protecting and preserving the park, opposed the proposal for the sake of the millions of visitors who come to the park each year for tranquility. The Gun Safety Coalition of Maine opposed all four proposals, which they characterized as 'very dangerous.' SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
